Egypt, Jordan discuss Arab action over Israeli violence in Jerusalem
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E-mail Xinhua, July 23, 2017
The Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers discussed in a phone call on Saturday the possible Arab steps and measures to be taken against the recent Israeli assaults against the Palestinians in Jerusalem, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The phone talk between Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi "addressed the deteriorating security conditions in Jerusalem and around Al-Aqsa Mosque and the serious aggressions of the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinians," said Egyptian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid in the statement.
The two sides stressed the urgent necessity to stop the Israeli escalation against the Palestinians and remove the restrictions imposed on religious practices at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Jordan considers holding an emergency meeting for Arab foreign ministers over Israeli violations in East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to Jordan's state-run Petra news agency.
Israel shut down the holy site on July 14, and installed checkpoints and metal detectors at its entrances after three Palestinian Muslims with Israeli citizenship shot two Israeli policemen. The attackers were later killed by Israeli police.
On Friday, three Palestinian protesters were killed and hundreds others were injured in clashes with Israeli troops over Israel's restriction on the Muslim entrance to the holy site, which sparked anger throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Later on Saturday evening, clashes renewed between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police outside Al-Aqsa Mosque. Live broadcasts near the compound showed a group of policemen beating and kicking a protestor lying on the ground.
The Arab League repeatedly condemned the Israeli practices at Al-Aqsa Mosque as a blatant breach of the right of worship and violation of relevant international laws and UN resolutions.
The recent Israeli measures added tension to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that has lasted for decades, since the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the Western-backed creation of Israel in 1948.
Israel is blamed by the international community for the deadlock of the peace process because of its settlement expansion policy, which is rejected even by the United States, its strongest ally.
The Palestinians seek to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital city in the light of the UN-proposed two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders.
Egypt and Israel reached a U.S.-sponsored peace treaty in 1979, when Egypt started working to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and mediate intra-Palestinian reconciliation.
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